Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 3 / Trend /
The major points in Azerbaijan's economic development strategy are diversification, reducing dependence on the energy sector and ensuring sustainable development, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in an interview with CNBS TV. The interview was posted on the AzerTaj state news agency Web site. "Priority areas are to advance information and communications technology (ICT), education, employment, poverty reduction and health care. All these fields fall to the social sector," Aliyev said.
Azerbaijan has made significant development in these areas, including ICT.
Today, ICT is a priority sector for the national economy, Aliyev said. "We set the goal to build a state with a strong economy, financial capacity and powerful intellectual potential. Oil revenues enable us to invest in human capital. ICT is one of the most promising economic sectors in the world. This is not only the economy, but also knowledge, education, development and modernization," Aliyev said.
Azerbaijan is on the verge of launching a satellite and creating a space industry.
The country plans to create conditions so ICT companies will choose Azerbaijan as a regional center. "Desire alone is not enough to become a regional center," Aliyev said. "Joint efforts are necessary. First, we must have the active involvement of the state, governmental initiatives and a state ICT program. Second, we must liberalize the economy and create a favorable investment climate. Third and finally, we must take advantage of our favorable geographical position to become a regional ICT center as we did in the transport and energy sectors." Such ICT activities will enable Azerbaijan to enter a new phase of development.
"The future does not depend on oil and gas, but rather technological development. Oil-and-gas reserves will run out sooner or later, and technological knowledge will always dominate development. The world's leading countries are those that invest in ICT and possess advanced technological capabilities," he said. Technological capacity and regional innovation are envisaged in Azerbaijan's state ICT program. "We are ready for initial investments by the government," he said. "We would certainly welcome foreign and local investments. But to give an impetus, to make a start, we should carry out all the preparatory activities, establish an infrastructure and ensure investments. We should make developing the ICT sector attractive, just as we succeeded in doing with our energy projects."